Noticing
by blueberried
Summary: Naruto's not sure when he went from thinking Sakura had to be his girlfriend to thinking of her being like a sister, a family member. He thinks it probably started when he hit puberty and began noticing other people instead of her. Only it wasn't people, just the ones he knew personally. (Shikanaru)
1. Chapter 1

_Mmmmmm not very satisfied with this one but I'm sick of re-writing it so wha-la... enjoy._

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Naruto's not sure when he went from thinking Sakura had to be his girlfriend to thinking of her being like a sister, a family member. He thinks it probably started when he hit puberty and began noticing other people instead of her. Only it wasn't people, just the ones he knew personally.

Okay that's a lie, it was really just one person that he began to 'notice' in ways that made his face heat up almost constantly, heart race and blood pump to areas he felt too embarrassed to say.

Hell, on his worst days a glance from the person could send goosebumps up his arms and a shiver down his spine.

There was just one problem. That person was Nara Shikamaru, the lazy genius, a _boy_. Naruto wasn't sure how he felt about that. Boys were supposed to want girls, right? _Right_?  
It was starting to stress him out and make him feel sick worrying and thinking about if it was right or wrong that he felt _things_ for another boy.

It got so bad that eventually his own sensei, Hatake Kakashi, pulled him aside one day and point-blank said, "You know Naruto... Many among the shinobi forces are gay. There isn't anything wrong with being attracted to men.". Naruto had felt immense relief but then dawning horror. "W-what do you mean, Kakashi-sensei! Why tell me that, haha, I know that already!" He had said, voice going up several pitches in panic.

Kakashi had leveled a blank stare at his blonde student and replied "Maa, maa... It's painfully obvious. You're not very subtle in all your staring at him. ". Naruto had frozen up and squeaked out an "Obvious!?", face going pale. Kakashi had just slapped him on the back, hard enough to make him stumble forwards, and replied with " Very... now go confess my cute little student! No one likes a coward!" before shunshin-ing away. Which was rather ironic since Hatake Kakashi is most definitely a coward when it comes to matters of the heart.

Naruto had struggled with wondering if he should do as Kakashi-sensei said and confess or not for a couple of months when something happened that made him realize he couldn't deny confessing any longer or else he'd go crazy.

That reason? Gossip.

Naruto had just been walking through Konoha's Market District, minding his own business, when his enhanced hearing had picked up on some gossiping ladies talking about the new Jounin that was recently promoted. Naruto knew this new Jounin to be Shikamaru and had instantly honed in on the ladies, interested to hear what they had to say. What they said made Naruto's teeth grind.

Their entire conversation was on how 'Eligible' Shikamaru was for marriage and that he'd be such a 'Catch', being the Nara Clan heir and Jounin now. Hearing the ladies gossip and plan on ways to get their daughters (or themselves) to run into Shikamaru and catch his interest had made it hard for Naruto to not run over there and yell at them all. How dare they talk about Shikamaru like that! They had no idea who he really was! All they had to go on were rumors and 'he-said-she-said'! Heck they weren't even Shinobi which meant they had no idea of the hardships Shikamaru had faced!

Naruto had stomped off in a frenzy, thinking about all the things they didn't know. Like what color socks Shikamaru wore, what he looked like sleeping, where his favorite cloud-watching place was, his favorite place to eat, that he named each Nara deer he helped birth, that he only wore his hair down around people he felt comfortable with, that he liked the smell of citrus and pine, that his eyes were in fact more of a reddish brown than chocolate! Those ladies didn't know anything!

Naruto had stopped during his rant and stared at nothing for a few moments, reviewing everything he had said in his head. "Wow, I sound kind of like... Sakura did when she fangirled about Sasuke..." Naruto had mumbled before his eyes widened in horror. "Oh my god, I've turned into a fangi- Fanboy!" He yelled pathetically, gripping his hair and staring down at the ground in slight panic.

It was then Naruto came to the most genius realization, his aversion to confessing had driven him crazy enough to become a fangir- fanboy to make up for not confessing.

"I just need to confess... get everything off my chest and even though he'll reject me it'll put to rest all these feelings and I won't fangi- _fanboy_ anymore. Yeah, that's what I need to do!" Naruto had said and gave a little fist pump at his brilliant idea to deal with his _feelings_ and growing fanboyism.

Naruto had headed to Shikamaru's apartment immediately, as fast as he could so his nerves wouldn't get the best of him. He only spent a couple of seconds staring at the door, pushing back his sudden fear and nausea about what he was going to do. With a gulp Naruto banged on the door and waited.

And waited some more. In fact he waited a quite few minutes before scowling, his nerves forgotten in annoyance at the door not being answered, and banged on the door again this time with a loud "Shikamaru!".

Finally he picked up on some noise coming from inside the apartment, some objects being moved and some very creative, muffled curses as someone made their way to the door.

The door swung inwards and a sleepy, bed-headed Shikamaru peeked around the door, eyes squinting in the bright sunlight that shone that day. "Naruto what... what do you want?" He had asked in between a yawn. Naruto had been speechless for a few moments, his mind preoccupied with examining Shikamaru and having a mild freak-out.

He was going to do it, he was going to confess. Sucking in a deep breath Naruto lunged forward, hands grabbing onto Shikamaru's shoulders.

"ILIKEYOUIHAVEFORALONGTIMEWILLYOUGOOUTWITHMEPLEASE!?" Naruto screeched into his face all in one breath. Shikamaru, now wide awake from the screech, had stared at Naruto in confusion with wide eyes. "What..." He had breathed out before his eyes narrowed and he came back to his senses.

"Why?" Shikamaru had finally asked, tone flat. Naruto blinked "I... uh- I like you and I have for a long time a-and... I know you said you weren't really interested in dating but... IreallyreallylikeyoualotpleasegooutwithmeI'msorry!" Naruto said in a rush of panic again.

They had stared at eachother for several long moments before Shikamaru rubbed at the bridge of his nose. "What a drag..." The Nara had mumbled before fixing Naruto with an intense stare that made a shiver go down Naruto's spine and his face reddened at how his thoughts went down a very dirty road.

"Okay. I'll go out with you... as troublesome as it is." Shikamaru grumbled, his gaze and stance relaxing as he apparently found whatever he was looking for in Naruto's eyes.

"R-really?! YES, 'TTEBAYO!" Naruto had done a victory fistpump and little dance at Shikamaru's agreement, all while Shikamaru watched on with a tired, yet slightly amused look in his eyes.

"Yes, really. Now let me go back to sleep or do you have anything else you want to yell in my face about?" The Nara had questioned with a raised eyebrow and sarcastic drawl. Naruto had blushed slightly in embarrassment about what he said before suddenly straightening up.

"Wait wait! Since we're boyfriends now-"

"Since about twelve seconds ago..."

"Does that mean I can kiss you?!" Naruto had asked, eyes sparkling and his heart doing little jumps at the thought of giving a kiss to Shikamaru.

Shikamaru stared back at him blankly before sighing and giving a slight nod. Naruto grinned widely and leaned in. As his face inched into Shikamaru's, his grin wobbled nervously. He'd never kissed someone (t _hat_ thing _with Sasuke in the Academy did not happen and Naruto would pummel anyone who said it did._ ) and was starting to panic. Shikamaru must have seen it in his eyes or something because he rolled his own and placed his hands on Naruto's cheeks, pulling him forward the rest of the way to press their lips together.

It was simple, sweet and _perfect_. Naruto felt bliss and giddiness when his lips met Shikamaru's. They were soft, very _soft,_ and fit just right against his. It was over way too quickly in Naruto's mind but he was just so happy it happened that he couldn't find it in himself to complain.

"There, we kissed... can I go to back to bed now?" Shikamaru grumbled, a light blush dusting his cheeks as he scratched at them in a slight show of nerves.

Before Naruto could think, he said "Can I come with you?" and his face turned red immediately, beginning to panic. He had screwed everything up, Shikamaru was going to hate him for asking to sleep with him! Not that Naruto was asking to _sleep_ with him, he just wanted to stay near Shikamaru.

But surprisingly Shikamaru had just mumbled a 'troublesome' before grabbing Naruto's hand and dragging him into the bedroom. "Sure, just don't snore, kick me or hog the blankets and we're good." He said and then proceeded to collapse onto his bed and wiggle under the blankets.

When Naruto made no move to follow Shikamaru turned towards him with a raised brow.

"Naruto... It's okay, get in." He said with exasperation, he was tired dammit and did not have time for silly blonde's who had chosen the worst day possible to confess to him. His new Jounin duties had been exhausting for the generally lazy shinobi and he wanted to sleep. So Shikamaru tugged a side of the covers down, patted the spot beside him and demanded "Bed. Now.", before rolling over and snuggling his blankets.

Naruto had stared for another moment before grinning widely and leaping onto the bed, tugging his shoes and jacket off ont he way before wiggling under the covers and ignoring Shikamaru's grumblings about blonde earthquakes. He stared at Shikamaru's back and wondered if it'd be crossing a line to snuggle up to him.

"Troublesome... I can hear you thinking, stop it." Shikamaru said irritably. Naruto mumbled a sorry and attempted to do just that... but he really wanted to hold Shikamaru. Once again Shikamaru seemed to know what Naruto was thinking and wiggled backwards until he his back was pressed against Naruto's chest. Naruto tensed up and blinked at the back of Shikamaru's head in slight confusion.

Shikamaru's hand abruptly found his and dragged his whole arm over so he covered Shikamaru. "There... now go to sleep." He heard Shikamaru say somewhat sleepily, already beginning to fall asleep. Naruto stared at his arm over Shikamaru's body and then back at Shikamaru's head before smiling softly and nuzzling his face into Shikamaru's hair.

He fell asleep soon after that, lulled into it by the warmth and smell of Shikamaru, happiness still coursing through his body.

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 _Edited; 11/18/2015_

 _Fixed some spelling errors and made sentences flow better._


	2. Chapter 2

Shikamaru came to slowly, mind and body protesting at waking up when he was so warm and comfortable. Contemplating going back to sleep he wondered what had roused him when he heard a sniffle and someone moved right up against his back.

He tensed for a brief moment before it all came back to him. " _Oh right... Naruto._ " He thought and stifled a yawn. Just this morning the blonde had confessed to liking him and wanting to go out. It had surprised him as the thought of Naruto not pursuing his teammate Sakura had never crossed his mind before. It had just always seemed like a fact that Naruto would always pursue and have feelings for the pink haired girl.

Shikamaru wondered when that changed and why him. Not that he was against Naruto liking him. Shikamaru after all had been nursing a crush on the blonde since graduation but had shoved his feelings into a box and then buried them under sarcasm and laziness.

There was always something more important going on than feelings... especially the romantic type.

Shikamaru could feel Naruto's breath against the back of his neck and the blonde's arm, that Shikamaru had draped over himself so Naruto would stop pouting and sleep, was not only still around him but also firmly under his shirt.

He could feel blunt, calloused fingers splayed against his stomach, causing a red flush to creep along his cheeks lightly.

"Naruto..." Shikamaru said and attempted to wiggle out of the blonde's grasp. There was no reply other than the grip Naruto had on him tightening.

"Naruto." He hissed in embarrasment. Moving had jostled the blonde's fingers southward and it was getting rather difficult to ignore the warmth of them.

"Hng.. wha-huh? Shikamaru..." He heard mumbled into his ear as Naruto finally started to wake up. "What's going... !" The blonde trailed off as he remembered what had occurred. Shikamaru cleared his throat and shifted some, bringing Naruto's attention back to him. "If you could move your hand that'd be appreciated..." Shikamaru intoned dryly and felt Naruto's fingers stiffen before the hand, and arm, rushed off of him like they'd been burned.

"I'm sorry!" The blonde hastily exclaimed as Shikamaru turned over with a yawn. "It's fine..." Shikamaru mumbled, starting to wake up completely even though he didn't want too. Naruto watched him nervously, face bright red as he gripped the covers. "S-so..." The blonde stuttered out, looking down at his hands as he picked at some loose threads on the covers.

"What now?" Naruto asked and peeked up through his bangs at Shikamaru. Shikamaru blinked lazily back at Naruto as he sat up in bed. "Well... now we go on a date..." He said and Naruto perked up a little before wilting as he remembered something Shikamaru had said a few months back.

 _"Hey Shikamaru, why did you turn that girl down?" Naruto asked curiously. The girl was gorgeous and seemed to be really into Shikamaru yet the pony-tailed boy had point-blank refused. Shikamaru took a drag of the cigarette he had lit after the girl left and shrugged, "Dates are troublesome and not worth the effort... besides, I'm not that interested in going out with people I know, much less people I don't know."_

Naruto shook his head "No, no... I remember you said you didn't like dates...". Shikamaru grunted, averting his eyes as he mumbled out "It's usually troublesome going on dates but maybe it won't be so bad if it's with someone I actually like...". A red flush had worked it's way up Shikamaru's neck and Naruto watched it spread to his cheeks in fascination before the words registered.

"Y-you... you like me?" He asked, surprise in his voice. Shikamaru stared at him incredulously. "Naruto... I wouldn't have agreed to try going out with you if I didn't..." He said slowly, starting to become uncomfortable because he was fairly certain tears were forming in Naruto's eyes. "Are... are you crying? Did I say something wrong?" Shikamaru asked nervously. Dammit, of course he had already screwed this up somehow. This is why he didn't do dating and romance... he just wasn't good with people and their emotions.

Naruto laughed lightly, hiccuping as he wiped at his eyes. "No! I'm just... no one's ever said they liked me enough... liked me enough to want to be with me." He said and smiled happily at Shikamaru. Shikamaru blinked a few times before smiling softly and chuckling "Well... their loss, I guess.".

Naruto tilted his head and stared at Shikamaru questioningly, "Their loss?" He asked curiously. Shikamaru grinned and leaned forward, into Naruto's personal space. Their lips were almost touching and Naruto could feel each puff of breath Shikamaru expelled as he said "Yep... it's their loss if they couldn't see how worth it you are.", before leaning in and pecking Naruto on the lips.

Naruto froze, stunned into silence as Shikamaru quickly moved away, jumping up off the bed. He watched in silence still as Shikamaru stretched and then slouched over towards his apartment's bathroom. Only the click of the bathroom door closing shook Naruto out of his shock and he turned bright red, putting his face in his hands he stared down at the bed.

Now he really felt like crying. He never had any idea that Shikamaru felt that much for him... if he had known sooner, well, he would have confessed long ago.

The bathroom door opening caused Naruto to look up and he registered that Shikamaru had changed out of his pajamas and into his usual black turtleneck with a mesh shirt underneath, black canvas pants and standard Shinobi sandals.

Shikamaru seemed a bit surprised that Naruto was still on the bed and apparently hadn't moved at all. "Are you going to get ready?" He asked with a brow raised. Naruto blinked dumbly back at him, "Huh?".

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and grabbed Naruto's jacket from where it had been flung too when Naruto had quickly took it off. "Troublesome..." He grumbled as he walked up to Naruto and tugged him onto his feet from the bed. "The date we were going to go on? Ring a bell?" He sarcastically asked with a slight smile.

"Oh! Right, yeah!" Naruto said quickly and grabbed his jacket, tugging it on and fumbling with the zipper. "Where we gonna go?" He asked excitedly as he dashed to where his shoes were laying haphazardly on the floor.

Shikamaru chuckled and leaned back against the wall, watching Naruto rush to get his shoes on. "I was thinking about that noodle place you worship or Yakiniku Q.". Naruto jumped up and pointed a finger in Shikamaru's direction "That 'Noodle' place happens to be called Ichiraku's and it is the greatest, BELIEVE IT!" He said loudly and then scratched the back of his head sheepishly, blushing. "I'm uh... I'd love anywhere you choose!" He said with a nervous grin. Shikamaru sighed and turned around, leaving the bedroom. "Noodle place it is then... troublesome..." He said lacklusterly. Naruto followed him, ranting all the way to Ichiraku's about how it wasn't just a 'noodle' place but a God-given gift to mankind.

He never noticed the amused smirk Shikamaru wore or the way his eye's softened around the edges the whole way there.

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 _I honestly didn't plan on continuing Noticing, but a few people expressed their interest in another chapter._ _I write one-shots much better than continuous stories so_ _I highly doubt I'll add anymore to Noticing as I really don't know where to move forward with it, so please don't get your hopes up!_


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